Method and apparatus for route determination based on one or more non-travel lanes

ABSTRACT

An approach is provided for determining one or more non-travel lanes in at least one route segment. The approach involves obtaining data from a location database, the data comprising information with respect to at least one route segment including, at least in part, information on travel and non-travel lanes within the at least one travel route segment. The approach then involves determining one or more non-travel lanes in the at least one route segment based, at least in part, on the data. The approach further involves determining whether to include the at least one route segment in a navigation route based, at least in part, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the one or more non-travel lanes during a time a user is projected to travel.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation U.S. application Ser. No. 13/924,251filed Jun. 21, 2013, entitled “Method and Apparatus for RouteDetermination Based on One or More Non-Travel Lanes,” the entirety ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Service providers and device manufacturers (e.g., wireless, cellular,etc.) are continually challenged to deliver value and convenience toconsumers by, for example, providing compelling network services. Onearea of interest has been the development of mapping and/or navigationapplications that provide users of mobile devices with drivingassistance services (e.g., route guidance) to improve the quality oftheir travels. However, there are traditionally many factors that canaffect the quality of routing and guidance instructions generated bydriving assistance services. For example, congestion caused by thepresence of non-travel lanes (e.g., parking lanes, loading lanes,restricted lanes, etc.), particularly in urban areas, can potentiallyaffect travel through those areas. Accordingly, service providers anddevice manufacturers face significant technical challenges in providinga navigation service that takes into account the presence of non-travellanes when determining navigation routes.

SOME EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Therefore, there is a need for an approach for determining whether toinclude the at least one route segment in a navigation route based, atleast in part, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the oneor more non-travel lanes.

According to one embodiment, a method comprises determining one or morenon-travel lanes in at least one route segment. The method alsocomprises determining whether to include the at least one route segmentin a navigation route based, at least in part, on a minimization of arisk of being blocked by the one or more non-travel lanes.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus comprises at least oneprocessor, and at least one memory including computer program code forone or more computer programs, the at least one memory and the computerprogram code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause, atleast in part, the apparatus to determine one or more non-travel lanesin at least one route segment. The apparatus is also caused to determineone or more non-travel lanes in at least one route segment. Theapparatus is further caused to determine whether to include the at leastone route segment in a navigation route based, at least in part, on aminimization of a risk of being blocked by the one or more non-travellanes.

According to another embodiment, a computer-readable storage mediumcarries one or more sequences of one or more instructions which, whenexecuted by one or more processors, cause, at least in part, anapparatus to determine one or more non-travel lanes in at least oneroute segment. The apparatus is also caused to determine whether toinclude the at least one route segment in a navigation route based, atleast in part, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the oneor more non-travel lanes.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus comprises means fordetermining one or more non-travel lanes in at least one route segment.The apparatus also comprises means for determining whether to includethe at least one route segment in a navigation route based, at least inpart, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the one or morenon-travel lanes.

In addition, for various example embodiments of the invention, thefollowing is applicable: a method comprising facilitating a processingof and/or processing (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at leastone signal, the (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at least onesignal based, at least in part, on (or derived at least in part from)any one or any combination of methods (or processes) disclosed in thisapplication as relevant to any embodiment of the invention.

For various example embodiments of the invention, the following is alsoapplicable: a method comprising facilitating access to at least oneinterface configured to allow access to at least one service, the atleast one service configured to perform any one or any combination ofnetwork or service provider methods (or processes) disclosed in thisapplication.

For various example embodiments of the invention, the following is alsoapplicable: a method comprising facilitating creating and/orfacilitating modifying (1) at least one device user interface elementand/or (2) at least one device user interface functionality, the (1) atleast one device user interface element and/or (2) at least one deviceuser interface functionality based, at least in part, on data and/orinformation resulting from one or any combination of methods orprocesses disclosed in this application as relevant to any embodiment ofthe invention, and/or at least one signal resulting from one or anycombination of methods (or processes) disclosed in this application asrelevant to any embodiment of the invention.

For various example embodiments of the invention, the following is alsoapplicable: a method comprising creating and/or modifying (1) at leastone device user interface element and/or (2) at least one device userinterface functionality, the (1) at least one device user interfaceelement and/or (2) at least one device user interface functionalitybased at least in part on data and/or information resulting from one orany combination of methods (or processes) disclosed in this applicationas relevant to any embodiment of the invention, and/or at least onesignal resulting from one or any combination of methods (or processes)disclosed in this application as relevant to any embodiment of theinvention.

In various example embodiments, the methods (or processes) can beaccomplished on the service provider side or on the mobile device sideor in any shared way between service provider and mobile device withactions being performed on both sides.

For various example embodiments, the following is applicable: Anapparatus comprising means for performing the method of any oforiginally filed claims 1-8, 21-28, and 42-44.

Still other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention arereadily apparent from the following detailed description, simply byillustrating a number of particular embodiments and implementations,including the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention. Theinvention is also capable of other and different embodiments, and itsseveral details can be modified in various obvious respects, all withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, thedrawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature,and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, andnot by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1A is a diagram of a system capable of determining whether toinclude the at least one route segment in a navigation route based, atleast in part, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the oneor more non-travel lanes, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 1B is a diagram of a location database, such as can be included inthe system of FIG. 1A, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of the components of the travel platform 109,according to one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process for selecting at least one routesegment in a navigation route based, at least in part, on the determinedone or more non-travel lanes, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process for determining a probability of anobstruction in at least on route segment based, at least in part, on aratio of the number of non-travel lanes to the number of travel lanes,according to one embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process for determining a weighing factor forat least one route segment based, at least in part, on one or morecharacteristics of a non-travel lane, according to one embodiment;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams that illustrate a problem faced by theusers while travelling as a result of on-street parking utilized in theprocess of FIG. 3, according to various embodiments;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams of user interfaces utilized in theprocesses of FIG. 3, according to various embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of user interface utilized in the processes of FIG.3, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of hardware that can be used to implement anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a chip set that can be used to implement anembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a mobile terminal (e.g., handset) that can beused to implement an embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

Examples of a method, apparatus, and computer program for determiningwhether to include the at least one route segment in a navigation routebased, at least in part, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked bythe one or more non-travel lanes are disclosed. In the followingdescription, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific detailsare set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of theembodiments of the invention. It is apparent, however, to one skilled inthe art that the embodiments of the invention may be practiced withoutthese specific details or with an equivalent arrangement. In otherinstances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagramform in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 1A is a diagram of a system capable of determining whether toinclude the at least one route segment in a navigation route based, atleast in part, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the oneor more non-travel lanes, according to one embodiment. As mentioned,there often can be a risk of a user encountering congestion whentraveling on streets or routes that have non-travel lanes (e.g., parkinglanes, loading lanes, restricted lanes, etc.) adjoining travel lanes.For example, in urban areas where streets may have parking lanes on, auser faces an increased risk of being block or slowed down by othervehicles attempting to park in the parking lanes in front of the user.The same situation may apply if there are other non-travel lanes alongthe street. For example, if there are loading lanes, work vehicles havethe potential to block and slow traffic down. In another example, thepresence of bicycle lanes may increase the potential for traffic slow asbicyclists exit or enter the lanes in front of the users. As a result,such non-travel lanes have the potential to adversely affect travel forusers, thereby resulting in increased travel time and less efficientrouting for users.

To address this problem, a system 100 of FIG. 1 introduces thecapability to calculate better navigation routes by considering whennon-travel lanes are present on the potential navigation routes. Morespecifically, the system 100 determines one or more non-travel lanes inat least one route segment. The system 100 may further determine whetherto include the at least one route segment in a navigation route based,at least in part, on the determined one or more non-travel lanesincluded in the navigation route. In one embodiment, the system 100provides one or more routing algorithms that enable drivers to reducethe risk of being delayed or stuck on a street because another driver istrying enter or exit the non-travel lanes in from of them. The system100, for instance, can take the number of non-travel lanes into accountwhen making routing calculations. In another embodiment, the system 100can also take into account the number of travel lanes in relation to thenumber of non-travel lanes when calculating navigation routes. Forexample, the system 100 may consider the number of driving lanesavailable for a road segment. The system 100 then adjusts theweighting/penalty for each segment based on the ratio of non-travellanes to the travel lanes.

In one use scenario, the system 100 may be evaluating whether to route auser along Street A versus Street B. In this example, Street A has onetravel lane and one non-travel lane (e.g., one parking lane on the lefthand side), whereas Street B has one travel lane and two non-travellanes (e.g., one parking lane on each side of the street). In oneembodiment, the system 100 can favor Street A in routing calculationsbecause Street A has a fewer number of non-travel lanes when compared toStreet B. Accordingly, by routing the user along Street A, the system100 reduces the risk that the user will encountered congestion resultingfrom drivers entering or exiting the non-travel lanes (e.g., parkinglanes). It is noted that although various embodiments discuss non-travellanes with respect to parking lanes, it is contemplated that non-travellanes refers to any lane on which a user is not permitted to travel. Forexample, non-travel lanes include, but are not limited to, one or moreparking lanes, one or more pedestrian lanes, one or more bicyclinglanes, one or more public transportation lanes, one or more loadinglanes, one or more restricted lanes, or a combination thereof.

According to one embodiment, the system 100 may initially determine oneor more route segment that are already correlated with one or morenon-travel lanes based, at least in part, on location informationcontained within one or more location databases 111 a-111 n(collectively referred to as location database 111), available from oneor more mapping and/or navigation services, or a combination thereof. Inone embodiment, the system 100 may determine the one or more travellanes for the determined route segment based, at least in part, onlocation information contained within the location database 111. Then,the system 100 may compare the determined non-travel lanes and travellanes to determine the most suitable navigation routes for the user toreach his/her destination. Subsequently, system 100 may recommend aroute based on such comparison.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 comprises user equipment (UE) 101a-101 n (collectively referred to as UE 101) that may include or beassociated with applications 103 a-103 n (collectively referred to asapplications 103) and sensors 105 a-105 n (collectively referred to assensors 105). In one embodiment, the UE 101 has connectivity to thetravel platform 109 via the communication network 107. In oneembodiment, the travel platform 109 performs one or more functionsassociated with determining at least one suitable navigation route forthe at least one user based, at least in part, on the comparison betweenthe one or more non-travel lanes to the one or more travel lanes.

By way of example, the UE 101 is any type of mobile terminal, fixedterminal, or portable terminal including a mobile handset, station,unit, device, multimedia computer, multimedia tablet, Internet node,communicator, desktop computer, laptop computer, notebook computer,netbook computer, tablet computer, personal communication system (PCS)device, personal navigation device, personal digital assistants (PDAs),audio/video player, digital camera/camcorder, positioning device,television receiver, radio broadcast receiver, electronic book device,game device, or any combination thereof, including the accessories andperipherals of these devices, or any combination thereof. It is alsocontemplated that the UE 101 can support any type of interface to theuser (such as “wearable” circuitry, etc.).

By way of example, the applications 103 may be any type of applicationthat is executable at the UE 101, such as media player applications,social networking applications, calendar applications, contentprovisioning services, location-based service applications, navigationapplications and the like. In one embodiment, one of the applications103 at the UE 101 may act as a client for the travel platform 109 andperform one or more functions associated with the functions of thetravel platform 109 by interacting with the travel platform 109 overcommunication network 107.

By way of example, the sensors 105 may be any type of sensor. In certainembodiments, the sensors 105 may include, for example, a globalpositioning sensor for gathering location data, a network detectionsensor for detecting wireless signals or network data, temporalinformation, a camera/imaging sensor for gathering image data, an audiorecorder for gathering audio data, and the like. In one scenario, thesensors 105 may include location sensors (e.g., GPS), light sensors,oriental sensors augmented with height sensor and acceleration sensor,tilt sensors, moisture sensors, pressure sensors, audio sensors (e.g.,microphone), or receivers for different short-range communications(e.g., Bluetooth, WiFi, near field communication etc.).

The communication network 107 of system 100 includes one or morenetworks such as a data network, a wireless network, a telephonynetwork, or any combination thereof. It is contemplated that the datanetwork may be any local area network (LAN), metropolitan area network(MAN), wide area network (WAN), a public data network (e.g., theInternet), short range wireless network, or any other suitablepacket-switched network, such as a commercially owned, proprietarypacket-switched network, e.g., a proprietary cable or fiber-opticnetwork, and the like, or any combination thereof. In addition, thewireless network may be, for example, a cellular network and may employvarious technologies including enhanced data rates for global evolution(EDGE), general packet radio service (GPRS), global system for mobilecommunications (GSM), Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS),universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), peer to per (P2P)etc., as well as any other suitable wireless medium, e.g., worldwideinteroperability for microwave access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE)networks, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code divisionmultiple access (WCDMA), wireless fidelity (WiFi), wireless LAN (WLAN),Bluetooth®, Internet Protocol (IP) data casting, satellite, mobilead-hoc network (MANET), and the like, or any combination thereof.

In one embodiment, the travel platform 109 may be a platform withmultiple interconnected components. The travel platform 109 may includemultiple servers, intelligent networking devices, computing devices,components and corresponding software for determining at least onesuitable route segment for at least one navigation route based, at leastin part, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the one or morenon-travel lanes. In addition, it is noted that the travel platform 109may be a separate entity of the system 100, a part of the one or moreservices 115 of the services platform 113, or included within the UE 101(e.g., as part of the applications 103).

By way of example, when a user plans a trip to the one or moredestinations, he/she may enter the name or address of the one or moredestinations into a navigation application. The travel platform 109 mayquery the one or more non-travel lanes, one or more travel lanes,associated with the determined route segment. Then, the travel platform109 may determine at least one ratio of the number of the one or morenon-travel lanes to another number of one or more travel lanes in the atleast one route segment. Further, the travel platform 109 may determinea probability of obstructed travel through the at least one routesegment resulting from vehicle movement between the one or morenon-travel lanes and the one or more travel lanes. In one scenario, thetravel platform 109 may determine one or more travel destinations forthe at least one user, whereby the travel platform 109 may processand/or facilitate a processing of the location information to determineone or more non-traffic lanes and/or one or more traffic lanesassociated with a determined route segment. Then, the travel platform109 may cause a comparison between the one or more non-traffic lanes andthe one or more traffic lanes to recommend at least one route segment tobe included in a navigation route. In one scenario, the travel platform109 may cause a ranking of the one or more determined route segmentsbased, at least in part, on the comparison, and may attach weightingvalues, for example, causing, at least in part, a penalty for one ormore routes segment based, at least in part, on one or more non-travellanes, one or more travel lanes, or a combination thereof.

In one embodiment, the location database 111 may include one or morecontexts, one or more parameters, or a combination thereof associatedwith one or more non-travel lanes and/or one or more travel lanes in atleast one route segment. By way of example, the travel platform 109 mayuse the one or more contexts, the one or more parameters, or acombination thereof stored within the location database 111 to determineone or more relationships between the one or more non-travel lanesand/or one or more travel lanes associated with at least one routesegment. More specifically, the travel platform 109 may use the one ormore contexts, the one or more parameters, or a combination thereof todetermine a hierarchy (e.g., ratio of one or more non-travel lanes toone or more travel lanes) in at least one route segment. In oneembodiment, the travel platform 109 may utilize location-basedtechnologies (GPS receivers, cellular triangulation, A-GPS, etc.) todetermine location and temporal information for one or more destinationsfor the one or more UE 101.

The services platform 113 may include any type of service. By way ofexample, the services platform 113 may include mapping services,navigation services, travel planning services, social networkingservices, content (e.g., audio, video, images, etc.) provisioningservices, application services, storage services, contextual informationdetermination services, location based services, information (e.g.,weather, news, etc.) based services, etc. In one embodiment, theservices platform 113 may interact with the UE 101, the travel platform109 and the content providers 117 to supplement or aid in the processingof the content information. In one embodiment, the travel platform 109and the services platform 113 may also run in UE 101.

By way of example, services 115 may be an online service that reflectsinterests and/or activities of users. In one scenario, the services 115provide representations of each user (e.g., a profile), his/her sociallinks, and a variety of additional information. The services 115 allowusers to share location information, activities information, contextualinformation, historical user information and interests within theirindividual networks, and provides for data portability. The services 115may additionally assist in providing the travel platform 109 with travelinformation of the one or more geo-routes and/or location anchors, etc.

The content providers 117 may provide content to the UE 101, the travelplatform 109, and the services 115 of the services platform 113. Thecontent provided may be any type of content, such as textual content,audio content, video content, image content, etc. In one embodiment, thecontent providers 117 may provide content that may supplement content ofthe applications 103, the sensors 105, or a combination thereof. By wayof example, the content providers 117 may provide content that may aidin determining the most suitable route segment in a navigation route forat least one user. In one embodiment, the content providers 117 may alsostore content associated with the UE 101, the travel platform 109, andthe services 115 of the services platform 113. In another embodiment,the content providers 117 may manage access to a central repository ofdata, and offer a consistent, standard interface to data, such as arepository of users' navigational data content.

By way of example, the UE 101, the travel platform 109, the servicesplatform 113, and the content providers 117 communicate with each otherand other components of the communication network 107 using well known,new or still developing protocols. In this context, a protocol includesa set of rules defining how the network nodes within the communicationnetwork 107 interact with each other based on information sent over thecommunication links. The protocols are effective at different layers ofoperation within each node, from generating and receiving physicalsignals of various types, to selecting a link for transferring thosesignals, to the format of information indicated by those signals, toidentifying which software application executing on a computer systemsends or receives the information. The conceptually different layers ofprotocols for exchanging information over a network are described in theOpen Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model.

Communications between the network nodes are typically effected byexchanging discrete packets of data. Each packet typically comprises (1)header information associated with a particular protocol, and (2)payload information that follows the header information and containsinformation that may be processed independently of that particularprotocol. In some protocols, the packet includes (3) trailer informationfollowing the payload and indicating the end of the payload information.The header includes information such as the source of the packet, itsdestination, the length of the payload, and other properties used by theprotocol. Often, the data in the payload for the particular protocolincludes a header and payload for a different protocol associated with adifferent, higher layer of the OSI Reference Model. The header for aparticular protocol typically indicates a type for the next protocolcontained in its payload. The higher layer protocol is said to beencapsulated in the lower layer protocol. The headers included in apacket traversing multiple heterogeneous networks, such as the Internet,typically include a physical (layer 1) header, a data-link (layer 2)header, an internetwork (layer 3) header and a transport (layer 4)header, and various application (layer 5, layer 6 and layer 7) headersas defined by the OSI Reference Model.

FIG. 1B is a diagram of location database 111 of system 100, accordingto exemplary embodiments. In the exemplary embodiments, mapping data canbe stored, associated with, and/or linked to the location database 111.In one embodiment, the location database 111 includes geographic data121 used for (or configured to be compiled to be used for) mappingand/or navigation-related services, such as for personalized routedetermination, according to exemplary embodiments. In one embodiment,the location database 111 may include one or more indexes 123 forindexing the geographic data 121. By way of example, the locationdatabase 111 includes node data records 125, thoroughfare segment orlink data records 127, POI data records 129, travel/non-travel lanerecords 131, and other data records 133. More, fewer or different datarecords can be provided. In one embodiment, the other data records 133include cartographic (“carto”) data records, routing data, and maneuverdata. One or more portions, components, areas, layers, features, text,symbols, names and/or a time of release of the POI or event data can bestored in, linked to, and/or associated with one or more of these datarecords. For example, one or more portions of the POI, event data, orrecorded route information can be matched with respective map orgeographic records via position or GPS data associations (such as usingknown or future map matching or geo-coding techniques), for example. Inone embodiment, the POI mapping platform 101 utilizes the name, locationand a time of release of the POI data record for querying images of thePOI from the image sharing services 115.

In exemplary embodiments, the thoroughfare segment data records 127 arelinks or segments representing roads, streets, or paths, as can be usedin the calculated route or recorded route information for determinationof one or more personalized routes, according to exemplary embodiments.The node data records 125 are end points corresponding to the respectivelinks or segments of the thoroughfare segment data records 127. Thethoroughfare segment data records 127 and the node data records 125represent a thoroughfare network, such as used by vehicles and/or otherentities (e.g., pedestrians, trains, planes, boats, etc.).Alternatively, the location database 111 can contain path segment andnode data records or other data that represent pedestrian paths or areasin addition to or instead of the vehicle road record data, for example.

The thoroughfare/link segments and nodes can be associated withattributes, such as geographic coordinates, street names, addressranges, speed limits, turn restrictions at intersections, number travellanes, number of non-travel lanes, types of non-travel lanes, and othernavigation related attributes, as well as POIs, such as gasolinestations, hotels, restaurants, museums, stadiums, offices, automobiledealerships, auto repair shops, buildings, shopping stores, parks, etc.The location database 111 can include data about the POIs and theirrespective locations in the POI data records 129. The location database111 can also include data about places, such as cities, towns, or othercommunities, and other geographic features, such as bodies of water,mountain ranges, etc. Such place or feature data can be part of the POIdata records 129 or can be associated with POIs or POI data records 129(such as a data point used for displaying or representing a position ofa city). In addition, the location database 111 can include event data(e.g., traffic incidents, construction locations, scheduled events,unscheduled events, etc.) associated with the POI data records 129 orother records of the location database 111.

The location database 111 can be maintained by the content provider 117in association with the services platform 113 and/or content providers117 (e.g., a map developer). The map developer can collect geographicdata to generate and enhance the location database 111. There can bedifferent ways used by the map developer to collect data. These ways caninclude obtaining data from other sources, such as municipalities orrespective geographic authorities. In addition, the map developer canemploy field personnel to travel by vehicle along roads throughout thegeographic region to observe features and/or record information aboutthem, for example. Also, remote sensing, such as aerial or satellitephotography, can be used.

The location database 111 can be a master location database stored in aformat that facilitates updating, maintenance, and development. Forexample, the master location database 111 or data in the master locationdatabase 111 can be in an Oracle spatial format or other spatial format,such as for development or production purposes. The Oracle spatialformat or development/production database can be compiled into adelivery format, such as a geographic data files (GDF) format. The datain the production and/or delivery formats can be compiled or furthercompiled to form location database products or databases, which can beused in end user navigation devices or systems.

For example, geographic data is compiled (such as into a platformspecification format (PSF) format) to organize and/or configure the datafor performing navigation-related functions and/or services, such asroute calculation, route guidance, map display, speed calculation,distance and travel time functions, and other functions, by a navigationdevice, such as by a UE 101, for example. The navigation-relatedfunctions can correspond to vehicle navigation, pedestrian navigation,or other types of navigation. The compilation to produce the end userdatabases can be performed by a party or entity separate from the mapdeveloper. For example, a customer of the map developer, such as anavigation device developer or other end user device developer, canperform compilation on a received location database in a delivery formatto produce one or more compiled navigation databases.

As mentioned above, the location database 111 can be a master locationdatabase, but in alternate embodiments, the client side locationdatabase (not shown for illustrative convenience) can represent acompiled navigation database that can be used in or with end userdevices (e.g., UEs 101) to provide navigation-related functions. Forexample, the client side location database can be used with the UE 101to provide an end user with navigation features. In such a case, theclient side location database can be downloaded or stored on the enduser device UE 101, or the end user device UE 101 can access thelocation database 111 and/or the client side location database through awireless or wired connection (such as via a server and/or thecommunication network 107), for example.

In one embodiment, the thoroughfare segment data records 127 may beassociated with information related to the number travel lanes and/ornon-travel lanes along a route segment. The travel/non-travel lanerecords 131 are then used to store data regarding the attributes orcharacteristics of the travel/non-travel lanes. For example, theattribute or characteristics may describe the physical dimensions of thelanes (e.g., width, length, etc.), vehicle capacity, applicablerestrictions, hours of operation, etc. The system 100 can then processor take into account the travel/non-travel lanes and theirattributes/characteristics when calculating navigation routes.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of the components of the travel platform 109,according to one embodiment. By way of example, the travel platform 109includes one or more components for determining at least one suitableroute segment in a navigation route based, at least in part, on the on aminimization of a risk of being blocked by the one or more non-travellanes. It is contemplated that the functions of these components may becombined in one or more components or performed by other components ofequivalent functionality. In this embodiment, the travel platform 109includes a control module 201, a context module 203, a segmentationmodule 205, a communication module 207, an analyzer module 209, anupdate module 211, and a recommendation module 213.

The control module 201 executes at least one algorithm for executingfunctions of the travel platform 109. For example, the control module201 may execute an algorithm for processing a query associated with a UE101 for determining suitable route information for at least onedestination. By way of another example, the control module 201 mayexecute an algorithm to interact with the context module 203 todetermine the geographic or temporal context of a UE 101. The controlmodule 201 may execute an algorithm to interact with the segmentationmodule 205 to cause a segmentation of one or more travel paths todetermine at least one driving segment based, at least in part, on thenumber of non-travel lanes, travel lanes, or a combination thereof. Thecontrol module 201 may also execute an algorithm to interact with thecommunication module 207 to communicate among applications 103, thetravel platform 109, the services platform 113, the content providers117, and the location database 111. The control module 201 may alsoexecute an algorithm to interact with the analyzer module 209 to analyzeone or more non-travel lanes, one or more travel lanes or a combinationthereof.

The context module 203 may determine the geographic or temporal contextof a UE 101 by utilizing location-based technologies (GPS receivers,cellular triangulation, A-GPS, etc.) to determine location (e.g.,geographic coordinates) and temporal information (e.g., speed) regardinga UE 101 during one or more navigation route between a starting point ofinterest (e.g., a home or office) and one or more destination. Thecontext module 203 may also identify whether certain conditions ortriggers have been met, such as whether a particular event has occurred(e.g., initiation of a travel to one or more destination). The contextmodule 203, in connection with the segmentation module 205, is also usedto determine the one or more non-travel lanes, one or more travel lanes,associated with the determined route segment to one or moredestinations. Further, the context module 203 may determine to store theone or more travel paths, the one or more non-travel lanes, and/or theone or more travel lanes within the location database 111.

The segmentation module 205 segments one or more routes to determine atleast one suitable driving segment. In one embodiment, the segmentationmodule 205 may determine a route from a start point to a destinationpoint ensuring minimization of obstruction by processing one or morenon-travel lanes, one or more travel lanes, or a combination thereof. Byway of example, if one of the selected streets associated with adetermined route segment is ascertained to be congested during the timethe user is to pass through, the segmentation module 205 can select analternative route and amend the navigation route to ensure minimaltraffic congestion for the user without any blocking by passingvehicles. In one scenario, the segmentation module 205 may determinecertain non-travel lanes have vacant spaces, thereby the travel platform109 may guide vehicles looking for parking towards the determined vacantspace. On the other hand, the travel platform 109 may determine vehiclesintending to only drive through a street, whereby the travel platformmay guide the vehicles through a street where all the parking slots arefull, and the probability of passing vehicle obstructing the passage ofthe driving vehicles is minimal.

The communication module 207 is used for communication between theapplications 103, the travel platform 109, the services platform 113,the content providers 117, and the location database 111. Thecommunication module 207 may be used to communicate commands, requests,data, etc. By way of example, the communication module 207 may be usedto transit a request from a user interface (UI) of a UE 101 to obtainlocation-based information (e.g., route information) for one or moredestinations. In one embodiment, the communication module 207 is used topresent a user with location-based information obtained from thelocation database 111 regarding one or more route information associatedwith one or more destinations. By way of example, if location-basedinformation related to one or more destination is unavailable from thelocation database 111, the communication module 207, in connection withthe segmentation module 205 and the analyzer module 209, can be used totransmit the location-based information to the location database 111 forfuture reference.

The analyzer module 209 is used to process one or more determined routesbefore and/or during one or more travel paths between a starting pointof interest (e.g., a home or office) and one or more destinations (e.g.,a restaurant, a stadium, etc.). The analyzer module 209 then analyzesthe one or more non-travel lanes, one or more travel lanes, or acombination thereof, with one or more determined route to the one ormore destination.

The update module 211 may work with the context module 203 and therecommendation module 213 to cause, at least in part, an update of theat least one routing information periodically, according to a schedule,on demand, or a combination thereof for a predetermined period prior toand/or during and/or after a commencement of travel.

In addition, the context module 203 may work with the recommendationmodule 213 to generate a recommendation to a user of at least onealternate route based, at least in part, on travel information obtainedby the context module 203 for a predetermined period prior to, during,or after a user's commencement of travel. In particular, the contextmodule 203 and the recommendation module 213 may work together in orderto monitor location information while traveling to the one or moredestinations.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process for selecting at least one routesegment in a navigation route based, at least in part, on a minimizationof a risk of being blocked by one or more non-travel lanes, according toone embodiment. In one embodiment, the travel platform 109 performs theprocess 300 and is implemented in, for instance, a chip set including aprocessor and a memory as shown in FIG. 10.

In step 301, the travel platform 109 may determine one or morenon-travel lanes in at least one route segment, wherein the one or morenon-travel lanes include, at least in part, one or more parking lanes,one or more pedestrian lanes, one or more bicycling lanes, one or morepublic transportation lanes, one or more loading lanes, one or morerestricted lanes, or a combination thereof. In one scenario, the travelplatform 109 may determine one or more travel destinations for the atleast one user, whereby the travel platform 109 may process the locationinformation to determine one or more non-travel lanes, one or moretravel lanes, or a combination thereof. In one scenario, the locationinformation may include, at least in part, mapping information, routeinformation, navigation information or a combination thereof.

In step 303, the travel platform 109 may determine whether to includethe at least one route segment in a navigation route based, at least inpart, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the one or morenon-travel lanes. In one scenario, the travel platform 109 may cause, atleast in part, a comparison of one or more non-travel lanes to the oneor more travel lanes within a route segment. In one scenario, the travelplatform 109 may cause, at least in part, a comparison of one or morenon-travel lanes and/or the one or more travel lanes between the one ormore route segments. The travel platform 109 may cause, at least inpart, a recommendation of at least one route segment to be included inthe navigation route based, at least in part, on the comparison. In onescenario, the comparison may further be in terms of the width of the oneor more non-travel lanes and/or travel lanes, the length of the one ormore non-travel lanes and/or travel lanes, the density in the one ormore non-travel lanes and/or travel lanes, or a combination thereof.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process for determining a probability of anobstruction in at least on route segment based, at least in part, on aratio of the number of non-travel lanes to the number of travel lanes,according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, the travel platform 109performs the process 400 and is implemented in, for instance, a chip setincluding a processor and a memory as shown in FIG. 10.

In step 401, the travel platform 109 may determine the risk of beingblocked by the one or more non-travel lanes based, at least in part, ona number of the one or more non-travel lanes included in the navigationroute. In one scenario, the travel platform 109 may determine that routesegment XYZ has two parking lanes, two public transportation lanes andtwo loading lanes, whilst the route segment ABC has one parking lane,one biking lane and one pedestrian lane. Therefore, the travel platform109 may determine that the possibility of being blocked in route segmentXYZ is higher than in route segment ABC, accordingly travel platform 109may recommend route segment ABC to one or more user driving to at leastone destination. In one scenario, the travel platform 109 may take intoconsideration the length and/or the width of the one or more non-travellanes.

In step 403, the travel platform 109 may determine at least one ratio ofthe number of the one or more non-travel lanes to another number of oneor more travel lanes in the at least one route segment, wherein (a) thedetermination of whether to include the at least one route segment inthe navigation route, (b) the minimization of the risk of being blocked,or (c) a combination thereof is based, at least in part, on the at leastone ratio. In one scenario, the travel platform 109 may determine one ormore weighting values for one or more routes, wherein the weighingvalues may include penalties for the number of one or more non-travellanes. In one scenario, the travel platform 109 may compare the numberof the one or more non-travel lanes to another number of one or moretravel lanes in the at least one route segment. Further, the travelplatform 109 may cause, at least in part, a ranking of one or moreroutes based, at least in part, on the comparison.

In step 405, the travel platform 109 may determine a probability ofobstructed travel through the at least one route segment resulting fromvehicle movement between the one or more non-travel lanes and the one ormore travel lanes, wherein (a) the determination of whether to includethe at least one route segment in the navigation route, (b) theminimization of the risk of being blocked, or (c) a combination thereofis further based, at least in part, on the probability. In oneembodiment, the probability of obstructed travel and/or the risk ofbeing blocked are determined based, at least in part, on historicalinformation, current information, or a combination thereof. In onescenario, the travel platform 109 may determine weighting values based,at least in part, on anticipated parking of one or more other vehiclesin the determined non-travel lane. In one scenario, the travel platform109 may cause, at least in part, a monitoring of one or more non-travellanes continuously, periodically, according to a schedule, on demand, ora combination thereof, to determine the available parking spaces in thenon-travel lanes of the determined route segment, whereby the travelplatform 109 may guide a travelling vehicle through a route segmentwhere all the parking spaces in the non-travel lanes are occupied,ensuring minimal traffic interruption for the user during his/hertravel.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process for determining a weighing factor forat least one route segment based, at least in part, on one or morecharacteristics of a non-travel lane, according to one embodiment. Inone embodiment, the travel platform 109 performs the process 500 and isimplemented in, for instance, a chip set including a processor and amemory as shown in FIG. 10.

In step 501, the travel platform 109 may determine one or morecharacteristics of the one or more non-travel lanes, wherein (a) thedetermination of whether to include the at least one route segment inthe navigation route, (b) the minimization of the risk of being blocked,or (c) a combination thereof is based, at least in part, on the at leastone ratio. In one embodiment, the one or more characteristics includephysical dimension information. In one scenario, the travel platform 109may further determine whether to include one or more route segment in anavigation route based, at least in part, on the length and width of theone or more non-travel lane, one or more travel lane, or a combinationthereof. In one scenario, the travel platform 109 may determine anavigation route by taking into account the number of parking lanes andthe number of driving lanes in a road segment. Subsequently, the travelplatform 109 may adjust a penalty for each road segment based on theratio of number of parking lane over the number of driving lane.

In step 503, the travel platform 109 may determine a weighting factorfor the at least one route segment based, at least in part, on the oneor more travel lanes, wherein (a) the determination of whether toinclude the at least one route segment in the navigation route, (b) theminimization of the risk of being blocked, or (c) a combination thereofis based, at least in part, on the weighting factor. In one scenario,the travel platform 109 may determine to include a route segment in thenavigation route based, at least in part, on a determination that theroute segment has fewer non-travel lanes compared to the other routesegments. In one scenario, the travel platform 109 may determine thenumber and/or the length and/or the width of non-travel lanes. Then, thetravel platform 109 may select a route segment based, at least in part,on the determination, to minimize the risk of obstruction during travelto one or more destinations.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams that illustrate a problem faced by userswhile travelling as a result of on-street parking utilized in theprocess of FIG. 3, according to various embodiments. In FIG. 6A, a userof vehicle 611 is navigated through a route to reach his/herdestination, whereby the user comes across a street with single drivinglane with parking on both sides, vehicles 601 and 603 are parked on theright hand side and vehicle 605 and 607 are parked on the left handsides. The vehicle of the user is blocked by vehicle 609 attempting topark at a parking space upon departure of the vehicle 605. The availableoption for the owner of the vehicle 611 is to either request therespective drivers of the blocking vehicle 609 to move his/her vehicleor wait for the blocking vehicle to be properly parked. This process istime consuming and substandard especially in a situation when the usersof the blocked vehicles are travelling in time constraint. In oneembodiment, the travel platform 109 acknowledges that unsystematicparking by vehicles leads to other vehicle being blocked, therefore thetravel platform 109 assists the users in reducing the risk of beingstuck in a street by finding a suitable route where the chances ofuser's vehicle being blocked is very minimal. As a result, in FIG. 6B,the user of vehicle 619 may be navigated through a single lane parking(vehicles 613, 615 and 617 are parked on the left hand side of thestreet) to minimize blocking of the vehicle by the parking vehiclesand/or the departing vehicle from the non-travel lane. The travelplatform 109 by taking into account the number of non-travel lanesand/or the number of travel lanes in a street, and may provide the userswith routing information to reduce the risk of being stuck in a street.In one scenario, the UE 101 may display alternative routes (626) to theuser to reach a destination, where route 1 leads to a road with singleparking lane and route 2 leads to a road with double parking lane. Thetravel platform 109 may then recommend a street to the user based on thedetermined probability of obstruction. In one embodiment, the travelplatform 109 may take into consideration the density of the point ofinterest (POI) in a street while determining at least one route segment.In one scenario, the travel platform 109 may determine the probabilityof obstructed travel through the at least one route segment wherein thestreets have numerous POIs. In one scenario, the travel platform 109 maydetermine that numerous POIs (e.g. 621, 623, 625) in one street segmentmay pose higher risk for vehicle 619 of being obstructed in trafficresulting from incoming/outgoing vehicles (627, 629) from at least onePOIs etc.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams of user interfaces utilized in theprocesses of FIG. 3, according to various embodiments. In one scenario,the travel platform 109 may determine a route by taking into account thenumber of non-travel lanes together with the number of travel lanes inone or more roads associated with a determined route segment. In onescenario, the travel platform 109 may process the length and the widthof a road, the width of the travel lanes, the width of the one or morevehicles, or a combination thereof, to further filter the most suitableroute segment for the at least one user. In FIG. 7A a user of vehicle711 is navigated through a wide road with two driving lanes with parkingon both sides of the road (vehicles 701 and 703 are parked on the righthand side and vehicle 705 and 707 are parked on the left hand sides).The vehicle of the user is then blocked by vehicles 709 attempting topark at a parking space upon departure of the vehicle 701. The availableoption for the owner of the vehicle 711 is to either wait for theblocking vehicle 709 to clear the path or utilize the available space inthe road and proceed forward with his/her travel. The travel platform109 may determine that the probability of obstruction during travelthrough a wide road with two driving lanes with parking on both sidesmay be less compared to a narrow road with single driving lane withparking on both sides. In FIG. 7B a user of vehicle 721 is navigatedthrough a wide single lane road (729) with parking on the left hand side(727) of the road where vehicles 713, 715 and 717 are parked. Then,vehicle 721 is momentarily obstructed by vehicle 719 attempting to parkat the parking space upon departure of the vehicle 717. However, vehicle721 can utilize the available space and proceed forward with his/hertravel. Here, the travel platform 109 may process the width of thetravel lane 729 and the width of the user's vehicle 721 and may reach adetermination that the vehicle can pass through the available spacebetween the blocking vehicle. In one embodiment, the travel platform 109may recommend travel routes with single lane parking over double lanesparking, because the risk of being obstructed by entering or leavingvehicles in double lane parking routes is higher. In one embodiment, thenumber of pedestrian crossings in a street may be used as a weighingfactor for the at least one route segment (723, 725). In one scenario,the travel platform 109 may determine the probability of obstructedtravel through at least one route segment based, at least in part, onthe number of pedestrian crossings, whereby the travel platform 109 mayselect streets with fewer pedestrian crossings. In one scenario, thetravel platform 109 while determining a route segment for vehicle 721may select a street with two pedestrian crossings (723, 725) over astreet with five pedestrian crossings to minimize the risk of beingblocked while the pedestrians are trying to cross the street.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of user interface utilized in the processes of FIG.3, according to one embodiment. In one scenario, when alternative routesare available to reach a destination, the travel platform 109 mayprioritize the road segment which has less risk of being blocked byother vehicles considering the number of non-travel lanes available inthe determined road segment. As illustrated in FIG. 8, a user istravelling from 801 to 807, and the travel platform 109 may display theuser in his/her UE 101 available alternative routes to reach 807,whereby route segment 803 may comprise of narrow single lane road withparking on both sides, whilst route segment 805 may comprise of a widedouble lane road with single lane parking. The travel platform 109 mayrecommend the most suitable route segment to the user based on thenumber of non-travel lanes, number of travel lanes, the length of theroad, the width of the road, the width of the user's vehicle, thedistance to the destination, and other attributes of a route segment. Inone scenario, the travel platform 109 may determine that all non-travellanes in a determined route segment are completely occupied, whereby thetravel platform 109 may recommend the route segment for the vehiclesintending to pass through the street to reach one or more destinations.In one scenario, the travel platform 109 may determine that a user isriding a motorcycle or a bicycle, whereby the user may be guided througha route segment upon determination that the motorcycle or the bicyclecan easily pass through the blocking vehicle.

The processes described herein for determining whether to include the atleast one route segment in a navigation route based, at least in part,on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the one or morenon-travel lanes may be advantageously implemented via software,hardware, firmware or a combination of software and/or firmware and/orhardware. For example, the processes described herein, may beadvantageously implemented via processor(s), Digital Signal Processing(DSP) chip, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), etc. Such exemplary hardware forperforming the described functions is detailed below.

FIG. 9 illustrates a computer system 900 upon which an embodiment of theinvention may be implemented. Although computer system 900 is depictedwith respect to a particular device or equipment, it is contemplatedthat other devices or equipment (e.g., network elements, servers, etc.)within FIG. 9 can deploy the illustrated hardware and components ofsystem 900. Computer system 900 is programmed (e.g., via computerprogram code or instructions) to determine whether to include the atleast one route segment in a navigation route based, at least in part,on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the one or morenon-travel lanes as described herein and includes a communicationmechanism such as a bus 910 for passing information between otherinternal and external components of the computer system 900. Information(also called data) is represented as a physical expression of ameasurable phenomenon, typically electric voltages, but including, inother embodiments, such phenomena as magnetic, electromagnetic,pressure, chemical, biological, molecular, atomic, sub-atomic andquantum interactions. For example, north and south magnetic fields, or azero and non-zero electric voltage, represent two states (0, 1) of abinary digit (bit). Other phenomena can represent digits of a higherbase. A superposition of multiple simultaneous quantum states beforemeasurement represents a quantum bit (qubit). A sequence of one or moredigits constitutes digital data that is used to represent a number orcode for a character. In some embodiments, information called analogdata is represented by a near continuum of measurable values within aparticular range. Computer system 900, or a portion thereof, constitutesa means for performing one or more steps of determining whether toinclude the at least one route segment in a navigation route based, atleast in part, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the oneor more non-travel lanes.

A bus 910 includes one or more parallel conductors of information sothat information is transferred quickly among devices coupled to the bus910. One or more processors 902 for processing information are coupledwith the bus 910.

A processor (or multiple processors) 902 performs a set of operations oninformation as specified by computer program code related to determinewhether to include the at least one route segment in a navigation routebased, at least in part, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked bythe one or more non-travel lanes. The computer program code is a set ofinstructions or statements providing instructions for the operation ofthe processor and/or the computer system to perform specified functions.The code, for example, may be written in a computer programming languagethat is compiled into a native instruction set of the processor. Thecode may also be written directly using the native instruction set(e.g., machine language). The set of operations include bringinginformation in from the bus 910 and placing information on the bus 910.The set of operations also typically include comparing two or more unitsof information, shifting positions of units of information, andcombining two or more units of information, such as by addition ormultiplication or logical operations like OR, exclusive OR (XOR), andAND. Each operation of the set of operations that can be performed bythe processor is represented to the processor by information calledinstructions, such as an operation code of one or more digits. Asequence of operations to be executed by the processor 902, such as asequence of operation codes, constitute processor instructions, alsocalled computer system instructions or, simply, computer instructions.Processors may be implemented as mechanical, electrical, magnetic,optical, chemical, or quantum components, among others, alone or incombination.

Computer system 900 also includes a memory 904 coupled to bus 910. Thememory 904, such as a random access memory (RAM) or any other dynamicstorage device, stores information including processor instructions fordetermining whether to include the at least one route segment in anavigation route based, at least in part, on a minimization of a risk ofbeing blocked by the one or more non-travel lanes. Dynamic memory allowsinformation stored therein to be changed by the computer system 900. RAMallows a unit of information stored at a location called a memoryaddress to be stored and retrieved independently of information atneighboring addresses. The memory 904 is also used by the processor 902to store temporary values during execution of processor instructions.The computer system 900 also includes a read only memory (ROM) 906 orany other static storage device coupled to the bus 910 for storingstatic information, including instructions, that is not changed by thecomputer system 900. Some memory is composed of volatile storage thatloses the information stored thereon when power is lost. Also coupled tobus 910 is a non-volatile (persistent) storage device 908, such as amagnetic disk, optical disk or flash card, for storing information,including instructions, that persists even when the computer system 900is turned off or otherwise loses power.

Information, including instructions for determining whether to includethe at least one route segment in a navigation route based, at least inpart, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the one or morenon-travel lanes, is provided to the bus 910 for use by the processorfrom an external input device 912, such as a keyboard containingalphanumeric keys operated by a human user, a microphone, an Infrared(IR) remote control, a joystick, a game pad, a stylus pen, a touchscreen, or a sensor. A sensor detects conditions in its vicinity andtransforms those detections into physical expression compatible with themeasurable phenomenon used to represent information in computer system900. Other external devices coupled to bus 910, used primarily forinteracting with humans, include a display device 914, such as a cathoderay tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode(LED) display, an organic LED (OLED) display, a plasma screen, or aprinter for presenting text or images, and a pointing device 916, suchas a mouse, a trackball, cursor direction keys, or a motion sensor, forcontrolling a position of a small cursor image presented on the display914 and issuing commands associated with graphical elements presented onthe display 914, and one or more camera sensors 994 for capturing,recording and causing to store one or more still and/or moving images(e.g., videos, movies, etc.) which also may comprise audio recordings.In some embodiments, for example, in embodiments in which the computersystem 900 performs all functions automatically without human input, oneor more of external input device 912, display device 914 and pointingdevice 916 may be omitted.

In the illustrated embodiment, special purpose hardware, such as anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 920, is coupled to bus910. The special purpose hardware is configured to perform operationsnot performed by processor 902 quickly enough for special purposes.Examples of ASICs include graphics accelerator cards for generatingimages for display 914, cryptographic boards for encrypting anddecrypting messages sent over a network, speech recognition, andinterfaces to special external devices, such as robotic arms and medicalscanning equipment that repeatedly perform some complex sequence ofoperations that are more efficiently implemented in hardware.

Computer system 900 also includes one or more instances of acommunications interface 970 coupled to bus 910. Communication interface970 provides a one-way or two-way communication coupling to a variety ofexternal devices that operate with their own processors, such asprinters, scanners and external disks. In general the coupling is with anetwork link 978 that is connected to a local network 980 to which avariety of external devices with their own processors are connected. Forexample, communication interface 970 may be a parallel port or a serialport or a universal serial bus (USB) port on a personal computer. Insome embodiments, communications interface 970 is an integrated servicesdigital network (ISDN) card or a digital subscriber line (DSL) card or atelephone modem that provides an information communication connection toa corresponding type of telephone line. In some embodiments, acommunication interface 970 is a cable modem that converts signals onbus 910 into signals for a communication connection over a coaxial cableor into optical signals for a communication connection over a fiberoptic cable. As another example, communications interface 970 may be alocal area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connectionto a compatible LAN, such as Ethernet. Wireless links may also beimplemented. For wireless links, the communications interface 970 sendsor receives or both sends and receives electrical, acoustic orelectromagnetic signals, including infrared and optical signals, thatcarry information streams, such as digital data. For example, inwireless handheld devices, such as mobile telephones like cell phones,the communications interface 970 includes a radio band electromagnetictransmitter and receiver called a radio transceiver. In certainembodiments, the communications interface 970 enables connection to thecommunication network 105 for determining whether to include the atleast one route segment in a navigation route based, at least in part,on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the one or morenon-travel lanes to the UE 101.

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing information to processor 902, includinginstructions for execution. Such a medium may take many forms,including, but not limited to computer-readable storage medium (e.g.,non-volatile media, volatile media), and transmission media.Non-transitory media, such as non-volatile media, include, for example,optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 908. Volatile mediainclude, for example, dynamic memory 904. Transmission media include,for example, twisted pair cables, coaxial cables, copper wire, fiberoptic cables, and carrier waves that travel through space without wiresor cables, such as acoustic waves and electromagnetic waves, includingradio, optical and infrared waves. Signals include man-made transientvariations in amplitude, frequency, phase, polarization or otherphysical properties transmitted through the transmission media. Commonforms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, aflexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, aCD-ROM, CDRW, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape,optical mark sheets, any other physical medium with patterns of holes orother optically recognizable indicia, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, aFLASH-EPROM, an EEPROM, a flash memory, any other memory chip orcartridge, a carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer canread. The term computer-readable storage medium is used herein to referto any computer-readable medium except transmission media.

Logic encoded in one or more tangible media includes one or both ofprocessor instructions on a computer-readable storage media and specialpurpose hardware, such as ASIC 920.

Network link 978 typically provides information communication usingtransmission media through one or more networks to other devices thatuse or process the information. For example, network link 978 mayprovide a connection through local network 980 to a host computer 982 orto equipment 984 operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). ISPequipment 984 in turn provides data communication services through thepublic, world-wide packet-switching communication network of networksnow commonly referred to as the Internet 990.

A computer called a server host 992 connected to the Internet hosts aprocess that provides a service in response to information received overthe Internet. For example, server host 992 hosts a process that providesinformation representing video data for presentation at display 914. Itis contemplated that the components of system 900 can be deployed invarious configurations within other computer systems, e.g., host 982 andserver 992.

At least some embodiments of the invention are related to the use ofcomputer system 900 for implementing some or all of the techniquesdescribed herein. According to one embodiment of the invention, thosetechniques are performed by computer system 900 in response to processor902 executing one or more sequences of one or more processorinstructions contained in memory 904. Such instructions, also calledcomputer instructions, software and program code, may be read intomemory 904 from another computer-readable medium such as storage device908 or network link 978. Execution of the sequences of instructionscontained in memory 904 causes processor 902 to perform one or more ofthe method steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, hardware,such as ASIC 920, may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware to implement the invention. Thus, embodiments of the inventionare not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software,unless otherwise explicitly stated herein.

The signals transmitted over network link 978 and other networks throughcommunications interface 970, carry information to and from computersystem 900. Computer system 900 can send and receive information,including program code, through the networks 980, 990 among others,through network link 978 and communications interface 970. In an exampleusing the Internet 990, a server host 992 transmits program code for aparticular application, requested by a message sent from computer 900,through Internet 990, ISP equipment 984, local network 980 andcommunications interface 970. The received code may be executed byprocessor 902 as it is received, or may be stored in memory 904 or instorage device 908 or any other non-volatile storage for laterexecution, or both. In this manner, computer system 900 may obtainapplication program code in the form of signals on a carrier wave.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequence of instructions or data or both to processor 902 forexecution. For example, instructions and data may initially be carriedon a magnetic disk of a remote computer such as host 982. The remotecomputer loads the instructions and data into its dynamic memory andsends the instructions and data over a telephone line using a modem. Amodem local to the computer system 900 receives the instructions anddata on a telephone line and uses an infra-red transmitter to convertthe instructions and data to a signal on an infra-red carrier waveserving as the network link 978. An infrared detector serving ascommunications interface 970 receives the instructions and data carriedin the infrared signal and places information representing theinstructions and data onto bus 910. Bus 910 carries the information tomemory 904 from which processor 902 retrieves and executes theinstructions using some of the data sent with the instructions. Theinstructions and data received in memory 904 may optionally be stored onstorage device 908, either before or after execution by the processor902.

FIG. 10 illustrates a chip set or chip 1000 upon which an embodiment ofthe invention may be implemented. Chip set 1000 is programmed todetermine whether to include the at least one route segment in anavigation route based, at least in part, on a minimization of a risk ofbeing blocked by the one or more non-travel lanes as described hereinand includes, for instance, the processor and memory componentsdescribed with respect to FIG. 9 incorporated in one or more physicalpackages (e.g., chips). By way of example, a physical package includesan arrangement of one or more materials, components, and/or wires on astructural assembly (e.g., a baseboard) to provide one or morecharacteristics such as physical strength, conservation of size, and/orlimitation of electrical interaction. It is contemplated that in certainembodiments the chip set 1000 can be implemented in a single chip. It isfurther contemplated that in certain embodiments the chip set or chip1000 can be implemented as a single “system on a chip.” It is furthercontemplated that in certain embodiments a separate ASIC would not beused, for example, and that all relevant functions as disclosed hereinwould be performed by a processor or processors. Chip set or chip 1000,or a portion thereof, constitutes a means for performing one or moresteps of providing user interface navigation information associated withthe availability of functions. Chip set or chip 1000, or a portionthereof, constitutes a means for performing one or more steps ofdetermining whether to include the at least one route segment in anavigation route based, at least in part, on a minimization of a risk ofbeing blocked by the one or more non-travel lanes.

In one embodiment, the chip set or chip 1000 includes a communicationmechanism such as a bus 1001 for passing information among thecomponents of the chip set 1000. A processor 1003 has connectivity tothe bus 1001 to execute instructions and process information stored in,for example, a memory 1005. The processor 1003 may include one or moreprocessing cores with each core configured to perform independently. Amulti-core processor enables multiprocessing within a single physicalpackage. Examples of a multi-core processor include two, four, eight, orgreater numbers of processing cores. Alternatively or in addition, theprocessor 1003 may include one or more microprocessors configured intandem via the bus 1001 to enable independent execution of instructions,pipelining, and multithreading. The processor 1003 may also beaccompanied with one or more specialized components to perform certainprocessing functions and tasks such as one or more digital signalprocessors (DSP) 1007, or one or more application-specific integratedcircuits (ASIC) 1009. A DSP 1007 typically is configured to processreal-world signals (e.g., sound) in real time independently of theprocessor 1003. Similarly, an ASIC 1009 can be configured to performedspecialized functions not easily performed by a more general purposeprocessor. Other specialized components to aid in performing theinventive functions described herein may include one or more fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGA), one or more controllers, or one or moreother special-purpose computer chips.

In one embodiment, the chip set or chip 1000 includes merely one or moreprocessors and some software and/or firmware supporting and/or relatingto and/or for the one or more processors.

The processor 1003 and accompanying components have connectivity to thememory 1005 via the bus 1001. The memory 1005 includes both dynamicmemory (e.g., RAM, magnetic disk, writable optical disk, etc.) andstatic memory (e.g., ROM, CD-ROM, etc.) for storing executableinstructions that when executed perform the inventive steps describedherein to determine whether to include the at least one route segment ina navigation route based, at least in part, on a minimization of a riskof being blocked by the one or more non-travel lanes. The memory 1005also stores the data associated with or generated by the execution ofthe inventive steps.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of exemplary components of a mobile terminal (e.g.,handset) for communications, which is capable of operating in the systemof FIG. 1, according to one embodiment. In some embodiments, mobileterminal 1101, or a portion thereof, constitutes a means for performingone or more steps of determining whether to include the at least oneroute segment in a navigation route based, at least in part, on aminimization of a risk of being blocked by the one or more non-travellanes. Generally, a radio receiver is often defined in terms offront-end and back-end characteristics. The front-end of the receiverencompasses all of the Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry whereas theback-end encompasses all of the base-band processing circuitry. As usedin this application, the term “circuitry” refers to both: (1)hardware-only implementations (such as implementations in only analogand/or digital circuitry), and (2) to combinations of circuitry andsoftware (and/or firmware) (such as, if applicable to the particularcontext, to a combination of processor(s), including digital signalprocessor(s), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause anapparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform variousfunctions). This definition of “circuitry” applies to all uses of thisterm in this application, including in any claims. As a further example,as used in this application and if applicable to the particular context,the term “circuitry” would also cover an implementation of merely aprocessor (or multiple processors) and its (or their) accompanyingsoftware/or firmware. The term “circuitry” would also cover ifapplicable to the particular context, for example, a baseband integratedcircuit or applications processor integrated circuit in a mobile phoneor a similar integrated circuit in a cellular network device or othernetwork devices.

Pertinent internal components of the telephone include a Main ControlUnit (MCU) 1103, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) 1105, and areceiver/transmitter unit including a microphone gain control unit and aspeaker gain control unit. A main display unit 1107 provides a displayto the user in support of various applications and mobile terminalfunctions that perform or support the steps of determining whether toinclude the at least one route segment in a navigation route based, atleast in part, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the oneor more non-travel lanes. The display 1107 includes display circuitryconfigured to display at least a portion of a user interface of themobile terminal (e.g., mobile telephone). Additionally, the display 1107and display circuitry are configured to facilitate user control of atleast some functions of the mobile terminal. An audio function circuitry1109 includes a microphone 1111 and microphone amplifier that amplifiesthe speech signal output from the microphone 1111. The amplified speechsignal output from the microphone 1111 is fed to a coder/decoder (CODEC)1113.

A radio section 1115 amplifies power and converts frequency in order tocommunicate with a base station, which is included in a mobilecommunication system, via antenna 1117. The power amplifier (PA) 1119and the transmitter/modulation circuitry are operationally responsive tothe MCU 1103, with an output from the PA 1119 coupled to the duplexer1121 or circulator or antenna switch, as known in the art. The PA 1119also couples to a battery interface and power control unit 1120.

In use, a user of mobile terminal 1101 speaks into the microphone 1111and his or her voice along with any detected background noise isconverted into an analog voltage. The analog voltage is then convertedinto a digital signal through the Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)1123. The control unit 1103 routes the digital signal into the DSP 1105for processing therein, such as speech encoding, channel encoding,encrypting, and interleaving. In one embodiment, the processed voicesignals are encoded, by units not separately shown, using a cellulartransmission protocol such as enhanced data rates for global evolution(EDGE), general packet radio service (GPRS), global system for mobilecommunications (GSM), Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS),universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), etc., as well as anyother suitable wireless medium, e.g., microwave access (WiMAX), LongTerm Evolution (LTE) networks, code division multiple access (CDMA),wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), wireless fidelity(WiFi), satellite, and the like, or any combination thereof.

The encoded signals are then routed to an equalizer 1125 forcompensation of any frequency-dependent impairments that occur duringtransmission though the air such as phase and amplitude distortion.After equalizing the bit stream, the modulator 1127 combines the signalwith a RF signal generated in the RF interface 1129. The modulator 1127generates a sine wave by way of frequency or phase modulation. In orderto prepare the signal for transmission, an up-converter 1131 combinesthe sine wave output from the modulator 1127 with another sine wavegenerated by a synthesizer 1133 to achieve the desired frequency oftransmission. The signal is then sent through a PA 1119 to increase thesignal to an appropriate power level. In practical systems, the PA 1119acts as a variable gain amplifier whose gain is controlled by the DSP1105 from information received from a network base station. The signalis then filtered within the duplexer 1121 and optionally sent to anantenna coupler 1135 to match impedances to provide maximum powertransfer. Finally, the signal is transmitted via antenna 1117 to a localbase station. An automatic gain control (AGC) can be supplied to controlthe gain of the final stages of the receiver. The signals may beforwarded from there to a remote telephone which may be another cellulartelephone, any other mobile phone or a land-line connected to a PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), or other telephony networks.

Voice signals transmitted to the mobile terminal 1101 are received viaantenna 1117 and immediately amplified by a low noise amplifier (LNA)1137. A down-converter 1139 lowers the carrier frequency while thedemodulator 1141 strips away the RF leaving only a digital bit stream.The signal then goes through the equalizer 1125 and is processed by theDSP 1105. A Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) 1143 converts the signaland the resulting output is transmitted to the user through the speaker1145, all under control of a Main Control Unit (MCU) 1103 which can beimplemented as a Central Processing Unit (CPU).

The MCU 1103 receives various signals including input signals from thekeyboard 1147. The keyboard 1147 and/or the MCU 1103 in combination withother user input components (e.g., the microphone 1111) comprise a userinterface circuitry for managing user input. The MCU 1103 runs a userinterface software to facilitate user control of at least some functionsof the mobile terminal 1101 to determine whether to include the at leastone route segment in a navigation route based, at least in part, on aminimization of a risk of being blocked by the one or more non-travellanes. The MCU 1103 also delivers a display command and a switch commandto the display 1107 and to the speech output switching controller,respectively. Further, the MCU 1103 exchanges information with the DSP1105 and can access an optionally incorporated SIM card 1149 and amemory 1151. In addition, the MCU 1103 executes various controlfunctions required of the terminal. The DSP 1105 may, depending upon theimplementation, perform any of a variety of conventional digitalprocessing functions on the voice signals. Additionally, DSP 1105determines the background noise level of the local environment from thesignals detected by microphone 1111 and sets the gain of microphone 1111to a level selected to compensate for the natural tendency of the userof the mobile terminal 1101.

The CODEC 1113 includes the ADC 1123 and DAC 1143. The memory 1151stores various data including call incoming tone data and is capable ofstoring other data including music data received via, e.g., the globalInternet. The software module could reside in RAM memory, flash memory,registers, or any other form of writable storage medium known in theart. The memory device 1151 may be, but not limited to, a single memory,CD, DVD, ROM, RAM, EEPROM, optical storage, magnetic disk storage, flashmemory storage, or any other non-volatile storage medium capable ofstoring digital data.

An optionally incorporated SIM card 1149 carries, for instance,important information, such as the cellular phone number, the carriersupplying service, subscription details, and security information. TheSIM card 1149 serves primarily to identify the mobile terminal 1101 on aradio network. The card 1149 also contains a memory for storing apersonal telephone number registry, text messages, and user specificmobile terminal settings.

Further, one or more camera sensors 1153 may be incorporated onto themobile station 1101 wherein the one or more camera sensors may be placedat one or more locations on the mobile station. Generally, the camerasensors may be utilized to capture, record, and cause to store one ormore still and/or moving images (e.g., videos, movies, etc.) which alsomay comprise audio recordings.

While the invention has been described in connection with a number ofembodiments and implementations, the invention is not so limited butcovers various obvious modifications and equivalent arrangements, whichfall within the purview of the appended claims. Although features of theinvention are expressed in certain combinations among the claims, it iscontemplated that these features can be arranged in any combination andorder.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: obtaining data from alocation database, the data comprising information with respect to atleast one route segment including, at least in part, information ontravel and non-travel lanes within the at least one travel routesegment; determining one or more non-travel lanes in the at least oneroute segment based, at least in part, on the data; and determiningwhether to include the at least one route segment in a navigation routebased, at least in part, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked bythe one or more non-travel lanes during a time a user is projected totravel.
 2. A method of claim 1, wherein the information on the traveland non-travel lanes includes, at least in part, current information,historical information, or a combination thereof.
 3. A method of claim1, further comprising: determining the risk of being blocked by the oneor more non-travel lanes based, at least in part, on at least one ratioof a number of the one or more non-travel lanes included in thenavigation route to another number of one or more travel lanes in the atleast one route segment, wherein (a) the determination of whether toinclude the at least one route segment in the navigation route, (b) theminimization of the risk of being blocked, or (c) a combination thereofis based, at least in part, on the at least one ratio.
 4. A method ofclaim 3, further comprising: determining a probability of obstructedtravel through the at least one route segment resulting from vehiclemovement between the one or more non-travel lanes and the one or moretravel lanes, wherein (a) the determination of whether to include the atleast one route segment in the navigation route, (b) the minimization ofthe risk of being blocked, or (c) a combination thereof is furtherbased, at least in part, on the probability.
 5. A method of claim 4,wherein the probability of obstructed travel, the risk of being blocked,or a combination thereof is determined based, at least in part, on thelocation database information comprising historical information, currentinformation, or a combination thereof.
 6. A method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining one or more characteristics of the one or morenon-travel lanes, wherein (a) the determination of whether to includethe at least one route segment in the navigation route, (b) theminimization of the risk of being blocked, or (c) a combination thereofis based, at least in part, on the one or more characteristics.
 7. Amethod of claim 6, wherein the one or more characteristics includephysical dimension information.
 8. A method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining a weighting factor for the at least one routesegment based, at least in part, on the one or more travel lanes,wherein (a) the determination of whether to include the at least oneroute segment in the navigation route, (b) the minimization of the riskof being blocked , or (c) a combination thereof is based, at least inpart, on the weighting factor.
 9. A method of claim 1, wherein the oneor more non-travel lanes include, at least in part, one or more parkinglanes, one or more pedestrian lanes, one or more bicycling lanes, one ormore public transportation lanes, one or more loading lanes, one or morerestricted lanes, or a combination thereof.
 10. An apparatus comprising:at least one processor; and at least one memory including computerprogram code, the at least one memory and the computer program codeconfigured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus toperform at least the following, obtain data from a location database,the data comprising information with respect to at least one routesegment including, at least in part, information on travel andnon-travel lanes within the at least one travel route segment; determineone or more non-travel lanes in the at least one route segment based, atleast in part, on the data; and determine whether to include the atleast one route segment in a navigation route based, at least in part,on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the one or morenon-travel lanes during a time a user is projected to travel.
 11. Anapparatus of claim 10, wherein the information on the travel andnon-travel lanes includes, at least in part, current information,historical information, or a combination thereof.
 12. An apparatus ofclaim 10, further comprising: determine the risk of being blocked by theone or more non-travel lanes based, at least in part, on at least oneratio of a number of the one or more non-travel lanes included in thenavigation route to another number of one or more travel lanes in the atleast one route segment, wherein (a) the determination of whether toinclude the at least one route segment in the navigation route, (b) theminimization of the risk of being blocked, or (c) a combination thereofis based, at least in part, on the at least one ratio.
 13. An apparatusof claim 12, further comprising: determine a probability of obstructedtravel through the at least one route segment resulting from vehiclemovement between the one or more non-travel lanes and the one or moretravel lanes, wherein (a) the determination of whether to include the atleast one route segment in the navigation route, (b) the minimization ofthe risk of being blocked, or (c) a combination thereof is furtherbased, at least in part, on the probability.
 14. An apparatus of claim13, wherein the probability of obstructed travel, the risk of beingblocked, or a combination thereof is determined based, at least in part,on the location database information comprising historical information,current information, or a combination thereof.
 15. An apparatus of claim10, further comprising: determine one or more characteristics of the oneor more non-travel lanes, wherein (a) the determination of whether toinclude the at least one route segment in the navigation route, (b) theminimization of the risk of being blocked, or (c) a combination thereofis based, at least in part, on the one or more characteristics.
 16. Anapparatus of claim 15, wherein the one or more characteristics includephysical dimension information.
 17. An apparatus of claim 10, furthercomprising: determine a weighting factor for the at least one routesegment based, at least in part, on the one or more travel lanes,wherein (a) the determination of whether to include the at least oneroute segment in the navigation route, (b) the minimization of the riskof being blocked , or (c) a combination thereof is based, at least inpart, on the weighting factor.
 18. An apparatus of claim 10, wherein theone or more non-travel lanes include, at least in part, one or moreparking lanes, one or more pedestrian lanes, one or more bicyclinglanes, one or more public transportation lanes, one or more loadinglanes, one or more restricted lanes, or a combination thereof.
 19. Acomputer-readable storage medium carrying one or more sequences of oneor more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors,cause an apparatus to perform: obtaining data from a location database,the data comprising information with respect to at least one routesegment including, at least in part, information on travel andnon-travel lanes within the at least one travel route segment;determining one or more non-travel lanes in the at least one routesegment based, at least in part, on the data; and determining whether toinclude the at least one route segment in a navigation route based, atleast in part, on a minimization of a risk of being blocked by the oneor more non-travel lanes during a time a user is projected to travel.20. A computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein theinformation on the travel and non-travel lanes includes, at least inpart, current information, historical information, or a combinationthereof.